Birthday Surprise
by VooDoo Lily
Summary: Not long after TPM, Padmé makes a surprise visit to see ObiWan on his birthday, only to be surprised herself when she overhears a conversation... Posted today in honor of Ewan's birthday. Updated with ch. 2. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

"Birthday Surprise"

Summary: Padmé makes a surprise visit to see Obi-Wan on his birthday, only to be surprised herself when she overhears a conversation...

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.

A/N: This was originally written as a response to a challenge given by Ticklesivory at the Obidala Fan Forum. You had to start the fic with "Obi-Wan! You can't use the Force! That's cheating!" Here's my result:

"Obi-Wan! You can't use the Force! That's cheating!"

Padmé Amidala, her hand raised to knock at Obi-Wan's door, paused at the sound of the female voice she heard coming from the Knight's room. After a brief moral debate with herself about eavesdropping, she leaned in to press her ear to his door and hear Obi-Wan's reply.

"Oh, come on, Bant, I'm going to find out anyway. Let's see what you've got under there."

Padmé's eyes widened as she heard the sounds of running feet and feminine giggling, then the unmistakable creaking of a bed as something heavy landed on it, followed by laughter from the room's occupants. Deciding she'd better make her presence known before she really regretted it, Padmé knocked loudly on Kenobi's door.

"Just a minute," she heard him call, his voice a bit breathless. He opened the door a few seconds later, his body bent over at the knees as he panted for air, but he straightened to attention when he saw who it was.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing politely to her. "This is a surprise. Anakin isn't here right now, I'm afraid. He's on a retreat--"

"Actually, Master Kenobi, I came here to see you," she explained, keeping her gaze fixed on him so she wouldn't have to look at the girl in his bed and make an already uncomfortable situation even more awkward. She wondered, however, why Obi-Wan didn't seem very embarrassed or even eager to get rid of her. Figuring that he was perhaps too much of a gentleman to chase her away from his door, she decided to tell him why she was visiting. "Senator Organa mentioned that today is your birthday, so I thought I'd stop by and ask you to dinner to celebrate the occasion. But," she added, her sense of decorum unable to put up with being the third wheel any longer, "I seem to have caught you at an…inopportune time."

Obi-Wan looked confused at her last comment, and only when Padmé had slid her eyes down and to the right in the direction of his bed did he understand her meaning. "Oh, you mean Bant? No, we were just having some fun. You didn't interrupt anything. Here, let me introduce you." He took her hand to lead her over to the bed, but she resisted, turning her head away to face the door as the color came into her cheeks.

"No, I couldn't possibly…" she began, but her protest was interrupted by the sound of Obi-Wan chuckling.

"Your Highness, what's the matter? If you can conduct an alliance between the Naboo and the Gungans, surely you can allow me to introduce you to a Mon Calamari."

Mon Calamari? She snapped her head around and blinked as she saw that, yes, a female Mon Calamari was sitting on Obi-Wan's bed, and, Padmé noted with relief, she was fully clothed.

"It's wonderful to meet you!" the Queen exclaimed in her euphoria. "Bant, is it? I am Queen Amidala from Naboo, but please, call me Padmé."

Bant smiled at the warm greeting she was suddenly receiving from the younger girl. "It's nice to meet you, Padmé. You'll have to forgive my friend Obi-Wan here." She winked before adding "We've known each other since we were in the crèche, and I've tried to give him pointers, but he still remains as clueless about women as ever!"

"Hey!" Kenobi protested, giving his fellow Jedi a playful slap on the arm. "Don't embarrass me in front of company!"

Padmé laughed, feeling reassured by Bant's words that she had understood the reason behind Padmé's earlier discomfort and was letting her know that it hadn't offended her. She still smiled a little self-consciously at the Mon Calamari, however, before asking "Would you like to have dinner with me and Obi-Wan, Bant? I'd love to hear more about your adventures growing up as a Jedi."

Bant nodded, saying as she stood up from the bed, "And I'd love to tell them to you, Padmé. I have several good stories about the trouble I'd get into with a certain someone," she said, nodding towards Obi-Wan, who only blushed and ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of embarrassment.

"Look, if you two aren't going to do anything except talk about me all night, can I at least get to pick where we eat? It is my birthday, after all!"

"Of course you may, Master Kenobi," Padmé said, as if she was soothing a little boy. "But, um, if you don't mind…could you tell me, what were the two of you doing before I came in?"

"Well, Bant had a present for me and she wouldn't let me open it to see what it was, so I tried to use the Force to see…"

"So I grabbed the present from him, ran, and jumped onto his bed with the present beneath me to hide it from him," Bant finished. "There it is on the bed there. I put it behind me when I sat up before Obi-Wan opened the door." She pointed to a small square package wrapped up in colorful tissue paper and tied with a ribbon that was sitting on the bed.

"Oh," Padmé said softly, putting the events of their explanation together with the sounds she had heard earlier.

Obi-Wan cocked his head to look at her curiously. "Why do you ask?"

Bant rolled her eyes at the question, but Padmé gave the male Jedi her brightest smile as she said, "No reason. Come on, let's go eat. You must be starving." She took his hand and started leading him out the door as Bant followed them, her present for Obi-Wan held in her webbed hands.

Finding himself being abruptly guided out of his room, Obi-Wan thought it best to remind Padmé, "But I haven't decided where we're going to eat yet."

"Then you'd better decide soon. We'll be outside in a minute and I expect you to tell the air taxi driver where we'll be going when we get onto the street," she replied.

"Yes, Your Highness," he muttered sarcastically, earning himself a slap on the arm from the Queen as they walked through the Temple halls. "Ow! Did you see that, Bant? She hit me!"

"Come on, Kenobi, you know you like it!" the Jedi teased.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response—"

"Because it's true?" she interrupted.

"Except to say that you have to start spending less time with Siri," he finished as they emerged onto the crowded streets of Coruscant. "You're starting to sound like her and that's scary."

"Do you know where you want to eat yet?" Padmé asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from being about another girl Obi-Wan knew.

Her attempt to change the subject worked. Obi-Wan answered, "Yes. I would like to eat at Dex's Diner."

Hearing his choice, Bant's smiling face became worried. "Obi-Wan," she whispered, casting a concerned glance at Padmé, who was too busy trying to hail an air taxi to pay attention to the Jedi for the moment, "are you sure that's wise?"

"She'll be fine," he whispered back. "She doesn't know it, but members of her security team have been following us since we left the Temple. A few of them will probably be waiting inside Dex's by the time we get there."

Bant nodded. "I saw them too. Do you think we should tell her?"

Obi-Wan glanced at Padmé, who was still trying to get an air taxi to stop for them. "No," he said. "Let her think she's given them the slip. Let her have some fun."

The Mon Calamari smiled at the caring she saw in his eyes when he looked at the young Queen who was trying so hard to get them transportation. Deciding to lighten the mood, she playfully asked him "Hey, whose birthday is it, anyway? Yours or hers?"

Obi-Wan only shook his head and said with a grin, "No, trust me, Bant. Making sure Padmé has a good time with us at our dinner…that's as good a birthday present as anything you could get me. Speaking of which," he looked at the package she still held, "when can I open that?"

"After dinner, I promise."

"Well, dinner's not going to happen if we don't get a ride first." Stepping forward, Obi-Wan placed his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle at an approaching air taxi. The driver stopped and Obi-Wan opened the door to allow a gaping Padmé and an amused Bant inside.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Padmé asked him when they were all settled in the air taxi and on their way to the diner.

"Of course, Your Highness." Obi-Wan's stomach growled suddenly, making him blush and the girls laugh as he added, "After we eat."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of the main characters or the waitress droid.

Note: Follow-up to "Birthday Surprise." Credit goes to jardim1 for coming up with the idea for Bant's gift. Thank you, jardim1!

"Birthday Dinner"

When Bant, Obi-Wan and Padmé entered Dex's Diner, they were still laughing from a funny story Bant had told about her and Obi-Wan's mutual friend, Garen.

"And then—and then he slipped in the mud and went down _again_!" Bant managed to say through her laughter, sending them all into hysterics again.

As the more surly customers gave the newcomers annoyed looks, Dex left his place behind the counter to greet the trio. "Well, well, well," he rumbled. "I never thought I'd see the day. Obi-Wan Kenobi with not one, but two lovely women hanging on his arm."

Bant smiled at the compliment, while Padmé blushed.

"What brings you folks to my cozy little establishment?" the large alien asked dryly with a grin that looked more frightening than friendly.

Obi-Wan, however, was unperturbed at the diner owner's appearance. "Today's my birthday, Dex, and I'm celebrating by having dinner with my friends here."

"A birthday, huh?" Dex grunted. "Well, I see your present," he told Bant, looking at her gift box, "but where's yours?" he asked Padmé.

The Queen squared her shoulders before firmly replying, "I'll be the one paying for this dinner. That's my present."

"Oh, so the little girl's got a big pocketbook."

Padmé gritted her teeth in annoyance. "I'm not a little girl."

"Oh, you're not? You sure look like one to me."

"Come on, Dex," Obi-Wan interjected. "Just give us a table, all right? You don't want to chase off paying customers, do you?"

Dex hesitated a moment before stepping aside to let them pass. "Yeah, all right, Kenobi. I got to get back to the counter anyway." He lumbered off, but not before muttering to Padmé, "You ain't worth my time anyway."

The brunette watched him go, gradually unclenching the hand she had curled into a fist at her side. As she sat down in a corner booth with her Jedi companions, she was still angry over the way Dex had treated her. "Master Kenobi, how can you be friends with that…that…thing! He must be the most impolite, insulting, idiotic--"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Obi-Wan interrupted, keeping his voice low. "Now I'll admit that Dex doesn't get along easily with everybody—"

Padmé made a noise indicating her scorn for that statement.

"But he's my friend," the young man finished. "So, can you please calm down? This is the last place you want to make a scene in."

A waitress droid came up to their table to take their orders. "What can I get ya?"

Padmé glanced at the bare tabletop. "We haven't received menus yet," she told the droid.

"We don't have menus here, sweetheart. Only things we serve for dinner are bantha steak, just about every known drink in the galaxy, and our specialty."

"What's your specialty?"

"Bantha steak."

"I guess I'll have bantha steak, then," the Queen mumbled.

"So will I," Obi-Wan said.

"Uh, I'll have two pitchers of water, please," Bant said as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Obi-Wan gave her a questioning look, but she only smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"That's two bantha steaks and two pitchers of water," the waitress repeated.

"And three cups of jawa juice, please," Obi-Wan requested.

The droid waitress took his order down on her pad, saying, "You got it, sweetheart."

"Thanks."

As they waited for their food to arrive, Bant said to Obi-Wan, "You know, I've changed my mind. Why don't you open your present now?" She pushed the box towards him, but he shook his head.

"It's okay, Bant. I can wait until after dinner."

"But—" She was interrupted by the arrival of their orders.

When Padmé received her plate of food, she only picked at her bantha steak with her fork at first. It didn't look very appetizing, but when she tried some, she found it to be surprisingly good. "I can see why you would want to come here," she said to Obi-Wan. "The food isn't bad."

"It's the only thing they make well here," he explained, digging in with enthusiasm.

As Bant watched her best friend eat his meal, she poured a glass of water for herself and shakily lifted it to her lips. "Uh, Obi-Wan, I really think you should open your present now…before you eat any more of your dinner."

Kenobi looked up in surprise, but he wiped his mouth and hands with his napkin and obediently took the package from the Mon Calamari this time, saying, "If you insist." He untied the ribbon, noticing the condition of the box for the first time. "Are there holes in here?" he asked, seeing the pinpricks in the package. He removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. His face paled. "I think I'm going to be sick," he announced.

"What is it?" Padmé scooted over to peer inside the box. At the bottom lay a tiny sleeping bantha. The Queen covered her mouth in horror. "Oh, no."

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I didn't know you'd be eating bantha for dinner," his fellow Jedi said lamely.

"Ugh, don't remind me. You've just ruined my appetite," Kenobi said. He reached in and carefully removed the miniature bantha from the box and set it on the tabletop. "He's cute, though, isn't he?"

"Where did you find him, Bant?" Padmé asked, surreptitiously pushing aside both her and Obi-Wan's unfinished plates of food.

"On Kamino. One of the Twi'leks there offered to give me a specimen of bantha they had created as pets. I thought Obi-Wan might like it."

"I do like it. Thank you, Bant."

"You're welcome, Obi-Wan."

Padmé ran her finger along one of the bantha's tiny, spiraled horns. "What will you name him, Master Kenobi?"

"Well, let's see…" Obi-Wan poked the bantha with his index finger, but the creature only yawned, and then went back to sleep. "If he's like other banthas, he'll eat a lot and sleep a lot. How about I name him 'Anakin'?"

They all laughed, but then Obi-Wan became serious. "Really, though, I don't know what to name him," he said sheepishly.

"How about Ben?" Padmé suddenly asked. "Ben the bantha…it has a nice ring to it."

"If you're tone-deaf," the male Knight muttered.

"Fine then," the younger girl pouted. "Do you have any suggestions, Bant?"

The Mon Calamari started to speak, but she was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Three heads turned in the direction of the noise. Everyone else just kept eating.

"I told you this was your last chance, and it is! Now get out!" Dexter shouted at a droid dish-washer.

"I am going to report you, sir, for wrongful termination," the droid informed him.

"Go ahead," the large alien scoffed. "I have proof that you have faulty programming. Always breaking dishes instead of drying them! I'll win the case, _and_ make sure the papers get my name right this time. My last name is 'Jettster' with three 't's."

As Dexter threw the droid out of his diner, Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan, remembering his earlier words to her. "The last place you want to make a scene in, huh?" she asked dryly, but Kenobi didn't seem to hear her.

"Jettster," he mumbled to himself. In a louder voice, he asked, looking at the small bantha on the table, "How about I name you 'Jet'?"

"Going for irony, are you, Master Kenobi?" Padmé said with a sly smile.

"That's correct, Your Highness," he said, his tone too sweet to be genuine.

Padmé's hand moved to give him another slap on the arm for his sarcasm, but he caught her hand this time before she could land the blow.

"Too predictable," he said with a smirk. But his confident look vanished when he felt a kick impact against his shin.

"How's that for predictable?" Padmé countered.

Bant decided to step in before things got even more out of hand. "It's getting late. Hadn't we better escort Her Highness back to her apartment, Obi-Wan?"

Kenobi was tempted to make a remark about the pain in his leg from Padmé's kick interfering with his ability to walk, but he thought better of it and only nodded.

Padmé paid the bill, Obi-Wan put Jet back in his box, and then the three of them left Dex's Diner with Kenobi giving the proprietor a wave goodbye.

Not long after the two Jedi and the Queen had left, some humans dressed in a nondescript fashion gradually began leaving the diner in ones and twos to avoid raising suspicion and began following Naboo's monarch and her two friends.

As Padmé, Bant, and Obi-Wan rode in an air taxi to Padmé's Coruscant apartment, they passed the Jedi Temple, where Bant suddenly asked the driver to stop. "I just remembered," she said, turning to Obi-Wan and Padmé with an apologetic look on her face. "I have an important errand to run. Could you two go on without me?"

"But we're only a few blocks away from my apartment," Padmé pointed out.

"I'm sorry, but this can't wait." Bant moved toward the door of the cab. In order for her to get out, Obi-Wan had to leave the cab first, and as he stood on the curb, the female Jedi hugged him goodbye. Releasing him from the embrace, she said, "I'll take Jet back to the Temple for you," and took her gift box back from him. She then looked at Padmé, who remained inside the cab. "It was very nice spending time with you, Padmé. I hope we can see each other again soon."

"So do I, Bant," the brunette said warmly.

Bant's silver eyes shone in the dark. "You know, it's such a nice night. Perhaps you'd like to walk the last few blocks to your apartment with Obi-Wan?"

The Queen nodded. "That's an excellent idea." Padmé paid the driver his fare, joined them on the curb, and linked her arm through Obi-Wan's. "Shall we, Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan gave his fellow Jedi a suspicious look, but he only told Bant that he would see her tomorrow for breakfast at the Temple before he began walking with the Queen in the direction of Padmé's apartment building.

The Mon Calamari watched them go, and then looked down at the box she held. She whispered to the bantha sleeping inside the package, "Where would your owner be without me, huh, little guy?"

As Obi-Wan and Padmé strolled along the street, the girl noticed how silent her companion was being. "Are you all right, Master Kenobi?" she asked with concern.

"I'm fine," he said a little distractedly. "I was just thinking how much I've enjoyed my birthday this year."

"Really?" She couldn't help feeling surprised, knowing the way she had reacted to some of his sarcastic comments. "Even though I haven't always been…" she paused delicately, "civil to you?"

He laughed. "I'll survive any bruises you've given me, Padmé." Her name fell easily from his lips, and she enjoyed the sound of it in his Coruscanti accent.

"Well, I'm glad…Obi-Wan."

They reached her building, and as they stopped outside it to say goodbye, an awkward pause grew between them.

Obi-Wan was the first to end it. "Thank you for dinner," he said politely.

She smiled. "You don't have to thank me, but you're welcome."

They fell silent again and stared into each other's eyes.

Obi-Wan slowly leaned in closer, and Padmé closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss… but it never came.

She opened her eyes again to see that Kenobi had paused, and when he caught her gaze, he blushed.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how to answer her question. He had stopped because he had remembered that Padmé's security was probably somewhere nearby watching them, and he didn't want an audience around when he kissed the Queen of Naboo. Unfortunately, Padmé thought she had been successful in eluding her protectors for the night, and Obi-Wan had let her continue to believe she had been. Now, however, he wasn't so sure that had been a wise decision.

"There's something I should have told you," he said.

"What is it?"

_Don't tell her_, a voice that was not his own suddenly sounded in his head.

_Bant?_

_It's okay, Obi-Wan_. _I've taken care of Her Highness' security for you_.

_Don't tell me… that was your 'errand'?_

He could hear the laughter in her voice. _Happy birthday, Obi-Wan_.

He smiled and shook his head, but sobered when he heard Padmé call his name.

"Obi-Wan? You wanted to tell me something?"

As she looked up at him with concern in her large brown eyes, Obi-Wan only smiled and cupped her cheek in his right hand. "Never mind. It's not important," he reassured her, before leaning down and giving her a long, soft kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, Your Highness," he said when he had drawn away.

"Goodnight, Master Kenobi," she replied, a flush coloring her usually pale skin.

Obi-Wan watched Padmé enter her apartment building, and then decided he would walk rather than take an air taxi back to the Jedi Temple.

After all, like Bant had said, it really was a nice night out.


End file.
